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Hristo Sirashki
Environmental Strategy and Corporate Governance
Summary:
The issues related to environmental protection and depletion of natural resources potential, as well as the rise of market economy and scientific and technological progress, require a reconsideration of the sources of raw materials and the sources of economic growth. The further development of humanity is only possible within an environmentally sound and sustainable development. The environmental and economic interests of sustainable nature utilization and nature conservation are included in the content of the environmental strategy, which is related to the environmentally sound corporate governance.
Corporate governance is required to provide the necessary impact in order to achieve rational nature utilization and conservation for the future generations.
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Nikolay Ninov
Efficiency of the Social Assistance System in Bulgaria through Planning the Use of European Funds
Summary:
Within the social policy implemented to alleviate the worst forms of deprivation and combat poverty, targeting European Union citizens that are most affected by the socio-economic crisis, and through the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, the European Commission finalized the process of adoption of all national operational programmes for the period 2014-2020 amounting to a total value of 3.8 billion Euros. These funds will be spent on achieving social cohesion and implementing one of the main objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy – “Lifting at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty or social exclusion”. The Republic of Bulgaria received 104.8 million Euros to finance social benefits and social services aimed at promoting social inclusion, thereby the national social assistance system is expected to demonstrate greater effectiveness and efficiency in spending them
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Gergana Nikolova
The Non-financial Declaration in the Context of the New Accountancy Act
Summary:
The issue of the Annual Financial Statement is ongoing. Our interest in it was aroused by the adoption of the new Accountancy Act, in force since the beginning of 2016, which first introduced the requirement for preparing and publishing the Non-financial declaration as part of the Annual activity report within the general-purpose Annual Financial Statement (AFS) of entities specified by the law. This study attempts to examine the Non-financial declaration from different aspects in order to reveal its nature, content, purpose and possibilities for improving the information capabilities of AFS. On this basis, conclusions are drawn and options for further research are outlined regarding issues related to the Non-financial declaration.
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Margarita Marinova, Emiliya Vacheva
FROM THE HISTORY OF TRADE AND BANKING IN SVISHTOV. TRADING-AND-BANKING
(MONEY-CHANGING) COMPANIES AND BANKING HOUSES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE FOR THE TOWN ECONOMY (1878-1912)
Summary:
Based on archival sources not used so far, periodicals and other sources of information, the study reviews the economic life of Svishtov in the period 1878-1912, with an emphasis on the development of trade. Against this background, it examines the issue of re-directing trading capital to banking. The focus of the study is the trading-and-banking (money-changing) companies and banking houses (8 partnerships and 9 sole proprietorships). The study answers a wide range of questions concerning their emergence, institutional characteristics, the nature of the capital mobilized in them; the banking operations and services they offered, with a focus on credit and the circumstances that allowed banking houses at certain periods to make a greater contribution to lending money to local trade and production; the psychological profile of the Svishtov merchant; the reasons why the joint-stock principle did not establish itself firmly and permanently in the economic life of the town. It also reveals the leading role of the Bulgarian National Bank in lending money to local trade and to the two savings joint-stock companies that existed in the 1890s and shows the importance of the banking houses for the development of the town’s economy in three directions – they were subjects in the process of initial capital accumulation; they provided short-term credit and increased the common funds for performing payment operations; they brought stability to the functioning of the banking and lending system especially in times of changes in the central bank’s policy. They also played the role of a ‘financial buffer’ that ensured the survival of companies in times of temporary hardships. The conclusion reached is that being away from joint-stock entrepreneurship, especially in banking, and the inability of local economic forces to create a joint-stock bank, was one of the main reasons for the economic backwardness of the town, beginning at the end of the nineteenth century.
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Hristina Nikolova
INSTRUMENTS FOR ENCOURAGING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
IN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
Summary:
The study presented aims to reveal the potential for expanding and intensifying public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the implementation of transport infrastructure projects. It focuses on the existing instruments for promoting PPPs in transport industry. The article presents an analysis of the European experi¬ence and the results from the application of instruments for promoting PPPs in transport industry. It summarizes the experience of the European Investment Bank in using these instruments, which will become increasingly important after the change in the use of structural funds and the allocation of the EU funding for infrastructure projects after 2020. It also conducts a critical analysis of the possi-ble forms of implementing PPPs in transport industry and defines their benefits and the areas of application. The main problems faced by public and private sectors in the implementation of PPPs as a form of financing transport infra-structure projects in the country are also outlined.
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Kristiyan Hadzhiev
INSTRUMENTS FOR ANALYSIS OF THE EXTERNAL ÅNVIRONMENT THROUGH THE PRISM OF SELF-MANAGED WORK TEAMS
Summary:
The article studies the specific characteristics of the external environment because they create actual possibilities for the introduction of self-management in the functioning of work teams in the Bulgarian organizational practice. An emphasis is put on the organizational context within which self-managed work teams (SMWT) function. The study also identifies the key instruments integrated in the model of analyzing the external environment in the process of transforming traditional work structures into self-managed ones. The article outlines the effects of the direct and indirect environment factors on the various dimensions of SMWT, namely structural characteristics, work and interpersonal processes, etc. The author supports the idea that the sustainable development of the SMWT-concept and the creation of added value for organizations require adequate monitoring of the competitive environment factors (specific micro-environment) and the common environment. This is one of the paradigms of modern management. Changes in the external environment affect the internal integration of the system and vice versa – the damaged internal processes limit the organization’s potential for adapting to the environment.
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Rosen Nikolaev
OPTIMISATION OF TRANSPORTATION COSTS FOR DELIVERY
OF HOMOGENOUS COMMODITY
TO CONSUMERS ALONG
THE LOGISTICS CHAIN
Summary:
This study examines some issues related to the mathematical modeling of shipment activities for homogenous products along the logistics chain and the economic-mathematical analysis of possibilities for its optimization. To this end, economic and mathematical models are suggested for the efficient management of transportation costs and costs arising in result of failure to meet the demand of certain consumers. Special attention has been paid to linear and non-linear models in an attempt to formalize the subjective attitude of managers in result of the objective impact of potential losses or the priority given to them due to the shortage of the output to be delivered. The practical need of and the options for applying the proposed economic-mathematical models are presented through comparative analysis and identifying the advantages of certain models through theoretical results based on a specific example from real business practice, which is evidence of their practical significance.
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Milen Velushev
THE PROBLEM WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH IN BULGARIA: CAN FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT HELP
Summary:
The Bulgarian economy has consistently ranked as one of the last among the EU countries regarding national competitiveness and factor productivity. Currently, its growth is modest and cannot qualify as a catch-up. A number of analyses have been dedicated to this topic, the results indicating various qualitative and quantitative factors or their aggregates as the cause for this lagging behind. This paper is an attempt to find out whether net foreign direct investment can help to improve the economic growth in Bulgaria. The analysis by Granger regarding the causality relationship between the GDP components and foreign direct investment inflows makes it clear that FDI affects not only government spending, which suggests that they cannot cause a change in the political institutions that determine the economic institutions. In short, at present foreign direct investment cannot be considered a source of economic growth due to the lack of investment in strengthening the market mechanisms by government.
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Kamen Kamenov
THE SYSTEM
Summary:
This article reviews the philosophy of systems thinking and insightfulness as success factors. It also analyses and describes the characteristics of systems in which people are involved. Furthermore, it suggests ideas for establishing the relationship which binds systems thinking to systems analysis and insightfulness and results achieved in the course of time. The importance of co-active environment for achieving efficient end results is determined, the focus being on establishing corresponding projective behaviour. The advantages and disadvantages of ‘life’ within a system have been identified. Finally, the conclusion has been made that a system creates a sense of security and sets the pace of activities, which are a substantial advantage as opposed to the lack of clearly set obligations and mode of behaviour.
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Rumen Vyrbanov
SOCIAL BUSINESS: USING WEB 2.0 AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
IN THE BUSINESS OF COMPANIES
Summary:
Over the recent years Web 2.0 has been at the forefront of high-tech tools and technologies that companies are seeking to use in their business processes. Web 2.0 has emerged as a new wave of business innovation that gives new dimensions to the Internet as a means of communication, cooperation and doing business.
This study examines the evolution of the Web in the context of opportunities for implementing technologies in companies’ businesses. Emphasis is placed on the second generation of Web technologies and the social business concept – the new opportunities for adapting and using the Web’s ideas and technologies in companies’ businesses. The nature and specific approaches and strategies of social business are presented as a new generation of technologies capable of achieving an increase in companies’ income and profits, seizing new market niches, as well as increasing sharply the labour productivity of employees and their incorporation into the main goals of the business.
The first part analyzes in brief the evolution of the Web technologies and their impact on the business of companies. The focus is on the nature and changes that the second and third generation of technologies (Web 2.0 and Web 3.0) impose on business processes.
The second part examines the priority areas for the application of social technologies in business: management of internal corporate communications, design and development of new products and knowledge management (Intranet environment); corporate communications and interactions with external partners and customers (Extranet environment, B2B model); e-commerce (online stores, B2C model). The practical possibilities of the three approaches for using the social networks in e-business are discussed: opening a representation (an online store) on Facebook or another social network, as an addition to the already existing traditional online store; online trading directly in the social network, without an online store; using the social networks as a complement and alternative to the search engines.
The third part of the study examines social business as an opportunity to use new social platforms for communication between companies and their customers. The nature of the new concept of social cooperation, which ultimately reflects in higher productivity and returns on investment, is analyzed. The author presents and analyzes several aspects of social business in a company’s activities – marketing in a Web 2.0 environment and working with clients of the company, interactions with business partners, personnel management and knowledge management in the company.
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Eduard Marinov
BULGARIA’S TRADE RELATIONS WITH ITS MAIN PARTNERS
IN SUBSAHARAN AFRICA – TRENDS AND PROSPECTS
Summary:
This article aims at presenting the prospects for trade between Bulgaria and Sub-Saharan Africa by analysing the geographical structure of international trade relations with the region. To achieve this firstly it presents Bulgarian trade with Sub-Saharan countries summarizing the trade flow dynamics for the 2003-2015 period, the share of Sub-Saharan Africa in Bulgarian international trade, as well as the commodity structure of the trade flows. The main section of the article thoroughly discusses firstly the major trade products for the leading trade partners, then the dynamics of trade with these countries and finally it analyses the significant cases of trade fluctuations. The conclusion summarizes the main findings which show the increasing importance of Sub-Saharan Africa for Bulgaria’s international trade relations.
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Tsveta Zafirova
Non-Financial Risk Management in Strategic Decision Making
Summary:
Within strategic management, risk is particularly important when choosing alternative strategic decisions. Specialist literature provides a variety of methods and models for determining financial risk. However, the strategic choice is greatly influenced by so-called non-financial risk. It affects the correct choice of a strategic decision. The aim of this study is to propose a methodology for non-financial risk management in strategic decision making, which is based on the theoretical research of scholars, best international practice, and the methodology of strategic management. The proposed methodology, along with its stages, is clearly explained in the study, and will help organizations in making management decisions, including strategic ones.
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Daniela Feschiyan
IMPROVING THE MODEL
OF UNCAPITALIZED ASSETS ACCOUNTING IN PUBLIC SECTOR ENTERPRISES
Summary:
This article focuses on some shortcomings in the model of uncapitalized assets accounting in public sector enterprises. The lack of standardization of the accoun-ting system in public sector enterprises is a prerequisite for the issues discussed. Despite the presence of a number of methodologies and guidelines there is still not a standardized approach for accounting the studied group of assets. The author proposes a sophisticated accounting model and argues that the problem can be solved only by the adoption of accounting standards which should replace the current practice of regulating public sector accounting by instructions and letters. The proposed accounting model will increase the reliability and credibility of accounting information and will ultimately improve accounting methodology
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Velichko Adamov
IMPROVING THE CAPITAL STRUCTURE OF BANKS
Summary:
This study examines the possibilities for improving the capital structure of banks through analysis of various combinations of long-term debt and equity. The theoretical thesis that banks should maintain a positive capital structure has not been ignored for a single moment in the reflections below. Yet, applied techniques and methods indicate that contemporary banking is predominantly based on negative capital structure in which a single unit of equity attracts multiple units of loan capital until reaching maximum levels beyond which the regulatory proportions for funding of banking business are violated. Quite logically, attention is paid to banking risk with reference to banks performance and the efficiency of capital utilisation. In parallel, financial leverage is applied to maximize bank earnings. Through the DuPont model, the capital management of banks develops a systematic tool for measuring the efficiency of decisions related to the development of the financial leverage effect. Based on this a model for the optimization of commercial banks is designed to facilitate bank managers in making efficient financial decisions, which take into consideration market capitalization and the cost of long-term capital resources
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Radoslav Tsonchev, Stoimenka Tonova
FINANCIAL INNOVATION
AND THE NEW REGULATION
Summary:
The majority of experts and practitioners share the opinion that one of the major reasons for the world financial crisis from the period 2007-2009 is the failure of the market regulation both as statutory framework and professional practice. Unfortunately, the traditional financial doctrine was not in position to adequately assess the high complexity of the modern financial markets. It did not address in detail the essence of the financial innovations and to a certain extent allowed the deregulation and market self-regulation and thus allowing the widespread of such innovations. This survey is an attempt (i) to respond to the need for better understanding of the financial innovations, (ii) to point out and analyze the regulatory challenges caused by the market dynamics and (iii) to assess the steps already taken. It is not by chance that the reforms of the regulatory framework played a major role in the post-crisis period. Their progress in the last two or three years has been remarkable but, in our opinion, there is still a lot left to be accomplished in this field.
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Tatiana Houbenova
THE FISCAL SOVEREIGNTY
AND THE TAX POLICIES OF THE NEW EU MEMBER STATES: THE EMU CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS
OF FISCAL GOVERNANCE REFORM
Summary:
The paper is focused on issues of fiscal policy coordination in the Euro area and the challenges to the new EU Member States from Central and Eastern Europe in implementation of different national fiscal policy options while preparing for the entry in the EMU. The main research question concerns the evaluation of the impact of the fiscal sovereignty in the new EU Member States in implementing their national tax systems in preparation to join the Euro area. The paper discusses the ways in which the new EU Member States adjust their national tax systems by making better use of introducing the appropriate tax structure and fiscal systems in order to reflect the specific conditions and priorities of the national economic policy and to achieve the required in the EMU sustainability of public finances in medium and long term aspect. The evaluation of options of tax reforms in the new EU Member States is done with regard to the problems of rising fiscal deficits as a result of higher Government expenditures and the reduction of revenues during the Global economic and financial crisis. Conclusions are drawn for the main trends in the EU governance reform and the fiscal sustainability of the EMU Member States.
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Mihal Stoyanov
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF LOW-COST AIRLINES
AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE
Summary:
Air passenger transport is essential for society and economy. This article examines the development of the low-cost carriers market in Europe and the specific characteristics of low-cost airlines, which distinguish these airline operators from the other participants in the aviation market. It also analyzes the serious expansion of this market segment in Europe for the period 2005-2013 and formulates recommendations for possible improvement of the business strategy of low-cost airlines.
